Don't Be a Coward

On the way back to the Rogue Encampment, Ethan was experiencing both pain and joy.

Naturally, he was happy that he had finally learned the basic combat skills he had always wanted to learn from the Necromancer, whose official title was Rathma Cult Priest.

The painful part was that Zul's teaching method was simple and brutal. Aside from teaching some basic movements and how to exert force at the beginning, his daily lessons consisted of sparring – or rather, one-sided beatdowns would be more accurate.

In Zul's words, at this stage, Ethan shouldn't worry about how to effectively kill enemies, but should learn how to protect himself from a storm of attacks and then look for opportunities to land a fatal counterattack while defending.

"It's not realistic to significantly improve your physical fitness and combat skills in a short amount of time, so for now, focus on practicing how to stay alive."

Zul said this after beating Ethan up again. With the last 'sparring session' over, the already short journey, no matter how slowly they walked, would eventually end, and the two finally arrived at the Rogue Encampment.

The Rogue guards at the entrance recognized Ethan and didn't question Zul much when Ethan brought him back. Especially after Zul said he was here at Isendra's request to deal with the increasingly rampant Dark Energy, the Rogues gave him a warm welcome.

"The Rogues here are a branch of the Amazons. Their combat power is very strong, but I didn't expect them to be suppressed by the Dark Forces to the point of hoping for a savior to arrive."

The Rogues were not in good shape. Although their morale seemed decent, as the days passed, the Dark Energy grew stronger, and they had fewer and fewer options, forced to passively defend the camp all day. In this situation, they no longer had the initial spirit of daring to clash head-on with Demons.

"It seems we need to deal with Andariel as soon as possible. Although I don't know if it will completely eradicate the problem of the rampant Dark Energy, it can at least alleviate the situation in this area... I believe that as long as this powerful Demon is killed and the Dark Energy recedes, these Rogues will be able to deal with ordinary Dark Creatures, which will also help restore their morale."

Zul was a man of action. He immediately asked for Isendra's whereabouts, eager to team up with her and take down the Boss, Andariel, right away.

Isendra was also waiting for Zul in the camp at this time. The two met quickly and immediately began discussing the issue of hunting Dark Creatures.

Compared to Zul's idea of going directly to Andariel, Isendra suggested clearing the surrounding Dark Creatures first, especially the Minions specifically arranged by Andariel.

"Especially the Den of Evil recently. According to my observations, a large number of Dark Creatures have gathered inside. Although they are not very powerful creatures, their increasing numbers are still a huge threat. If left unchecked, it could very likely destroy this camp."

"The Rogue Encampment is almost the last human camp with combat power in this area. Even if we kill Andariel, we will still need the Rogues to clear the Dark Creatures in the entire region... So we must clear out the potential threat of the Den of Evil."

Zul nodded, agreeing with Isendra's plan: "You're right, let's clear the surroundings first. It shouldn't take long, after all, there are three of us."

"Three?"

Isendra was stunned for a moment, blinked, and then noticed Ethan, who had been standing silently beside them: "You mean... Ethan?"

This time it was Zul's turn to be surprised: "Isn't he our companion in fighting the Dark Forces?"

Isendra then understood Zul's misunderstanding and smiled, shaking her head: "No, although he can help a little, he hasn't even touched the threshold of basic magic yet. It's not suitable for him to fight Dark Creatures right now."

"Alright, then it's just the two of us."

"Don't worry, the increasingly powerful Dark Energy will alert many groups. I believe it won't be long before more and more companions appear."

Hearing this, Ethan thought of the Paladin, the Barbarian, the Amazons, and the later additions, the Druid and the Assassin. The first three, plus the two in front of him, would become the heroes who would once again defeat the Demon Kings, Diablo and Baal.

However, it seemed he wouldn't be able to see these people. He had calculated in his spare time that he had been in this world for over twenty days and only had a few days left before he would leave the Diablo World and return to that strange ocean.

He had basically completed the goals he had initially planned. Not only had he learned how to construct Magic Arrays, but he had also obtained a Spellbook containing the principles and usage methods of basic spells. He had learned the basics of Magic Potion making, how to use Mental Power to distinguish the properties of herbs, and had learned basic close combat.

He had firmly memorized these things in his mind, and his enhanced memory had once again provided immense help. He had also obtained books for things he didn't have time to memorize, so he could continue learning after returning.

It could be said that this trip to the Diablo World was a great success. As long as Ethan persevered, his strength would steadily improve, and because the categories he was involved in were diverse and could promote each other's improvement, he wouldn't encounter any so-called bottlenecks in a short period of time.

"Next, it's time to pick up the equipment I ordered before."

Before leaving the Rogue Encampment to find Zul, he had used the rewards he had earned during that time to ask Charsi, the blacksmith in the camp, to help him make a small piece of equipment.

In fact, Charsi had finished making what he wanted the day after he left the camp, as it was truly just a small item: two not-too-heavy Bracers, with small mechanisms on the outside that could fire three Short Swords about ten centimeters long.

Before having them made, he had specifically asked Kashya about the Rogues' trick of imbuing arrows with magic before firing them. After much thought and continuous modification, and finally with Isendra's help, he completed the final design and then asked Charsi to forge the physical item.

What he had received from Charsi was still a semi-finished product. For now, it was just ordinary Bracers that could fire a total of six Short Swords.

After getting them, Ethan still needed to personally engrave the pre-designed Magic Array in the designated areas within the Bracers. This was a meticulous and tedious task, and since he only had this one pair of Bracers, if he made a big mistake and ruined them, he wouldn't have another chance to make a new pair.

Highly focused, Ethan not only adjusted his state to the best beforehand but also put up a large sign outside his tent that read: PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB.

Feeling that everything was ready, Ethan began to carefully engrave the Magic Array he had designed long ago, bit by bit.

Engraving a Magic Array onto equipment, recording specific magic, and then triggering it with Mental Power to activate it, achieving the effect of casting some magic.

This was the protective item Ethan had prepared for himself.

The concept was not complicated. He simply broke down the steps a Sorcerer takes to cast magic and then simplified what a Sorcerer could do on their own to just the most basic step of using Mental Power to trigger it.

The Magic Power would be provided by the Magic Stones Ethan carried.

For convenience, Ethan also added a Magic Power storage step to the Magic Array. This way, he only needed to import the power from the Magic Stones into the Magic Array during his free time to store it beforehand, avoiding the need to also attach the Magic Stones to the Bracers as additional 'hardware' and also eliminating a step in drawing Magic Power, saving time in casting magic.

The shaping and casting of the magic were all automatically completed by the Magic Array. The advantage was that it was mindless, and the disadvantage was that everything was pre-set, including the power and speed.

And to compensate for the weak Magic Power and the rough Magic Array, Ethan had to add a physical carrier to increase the killing power, which is why he added the Short Swords – or rather, Wrist Crossbows – to the Bracers. He had also specifically asked Kashya for advice on how to imbue arrows with magic.

When finally completed, these two Bracers became Magic Equipment that could fire six Fire Arrows.

This equipment had no manual mechanism. Ethan spent some effort designing the mechanism for firing the Short Swords to be triggered by Mental Power. It could be said that this equipment had to be used with Mental Power, which indirectly made it his exclusive equipment – those with sufficient Mental Power control wouldn't bother with this, and those who would want it didn't have enough Mental Power control.

"I feel like this thing is a bit like something a woman would use."

Ethan, who had been busy all night and successfully designed and created his first piece of Magic Equipment, was very happy. He deliberately ignored the slight feeling of something being off that arose from the bottom of his heart.

Putting on the pair of Bracers, he felt their weight and whether they affected his movements. Then, Ethan carefully organized the items on his person. He also took out a few bottles of special Potions he had made earlier and put them in the small bag behind him.

After putting on his Short Sword at his waist and hanging his Shield where he could easily grab it, Ethan left his tent and went directly to find Isendra.

Although he had been busy all night and consumed some energy, Ethan had recovered after resting for a while. He had been consistently practicing during this time, and both his physical strength and Mental Power had reached a new level.

Feeling his current state, he made an important decision: he would go with Isendra and Zul to the Den of Evil to clear out the Dark Creatures lurking there.

"With Zul and Isendra as powerful teammates, if I don't even dare to face a group of the weakest Dark Creatures, then what kind of future will I have?"

Who knows what kind of worlds he would go to in the future, and what kind of monsters he would face? Would he always rely on being able to hide in a safe place to gather resources? Who knows what he would encounter in that ocean world? Could he guarantee that everyone he met in the future would be ordinary people?

"Although I was a bit cowardly before, when it's time to be reckless, I absolutely cannot hesitate! No question about it, I have to do this!"